MUST READ: SHATTERED DREAMS- Episode 9

Episode 9

Alexander felt as white as a ghost as she got to her feet with shaky legs. Belina looked similarly white as she stared at Alexa in total shock. Her

facial expression was frightening and Alexa soon started crying all over again. Richard was completely in the dark and his patience soon waned out.

“Is someone going to tell me what the drama is about?” Richard bellowed.

Belina deflated and seemed to go faintly dizzy as she tried to get something to hold on to before her knees buckled. Richard quickly held her but she left his arms almost instantly to sit on a chair. Richard’s frustration and anger became more prominent and he shot Alexa a stern look that could make any daughter squirm. “If you don’t open your mouth now, I would forget that you are twenty three and give you the spanking you deserve” he yelled at Alexander who was crying profusely. Tears started rolling down Belina’s cheeks and Richard almost lost it. He started pacing in his quest to keep his temper down.

The news of pregnancy had both come as a surprise and a shock. It was not enough that frank came to tell her that Michael is gay, but the stunning news that Alexander had reveal by herself was the real shocker. Pregnant! Pregnant?

“What did I do wrong?” Belina sobbed with eyes down, not trusting herself to look at her daughter without giving in to the urge to tear her apart. “was I not a good mother? didn’t I lay good examples…”

“You did all that mum, I am sorry. Please forgive me dad” she cried bitterly.

“Forgive you for what?” Richard roared and Belina raised tears stricken eyes to Belina and her eyes burned with dark fury.

“Can’t you talk?” she yelled. “Open your filthy mouth and tell your father what he should forgive you for. Go on” she shouted on top of her lungs. Alexander cowered and recoiled. “You can’t? Oh no, you would definitely tell him with your mouth, not mine. Go on” she commanded, shooting to her feet like a bullet.

“No mum, please” Alexa said shaking but looking at her dad with fright written all over her features. Richard could not remember ever seeing Alexa this scared and seeing this made Richard even more perplexed because he could not imagine what news could be this terrible. Alexander had never been so frightened of her own dad but now, she felt like a limping ant before a dragon.

“What is it Alexa?”

The calm tone was even worse and Alexa shivered. She knew that it was always calm before a storm. She could not open her mouth.

“Alexander is pregnant” Belina dropped and the bomb landed. Silence reigned for a few seconds and Alexa could not bear it anymore.

“I am sorry dad… I am sooorry” she cried and fled to her room as fast as her legs could carry her. Even after the audible slam of Alexa’s bedroom door, Richard was still frozen. Belina collapsed on a chair and sobbed.

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Prisca stood outside Patricia’s room and knocked softly. The door flung open and Patricia smiled. “Oh mum, you are back” she murmured as she went for a hug.

“Obviously” Prisca replied, smiling.

“Welcome mum” Patricia said and Prisca entered her daughter’s room. She was not yet used to the fact that Pat was back but she was liking the feel of having her daughter with her.

“How are you woman? oh… I know you would say ‘busy’” Prisca murmured with a faint smile immediately she saw the open laptop and the books on the bed.

Pat grinned. “You are insightful mum, actually, I am working on my assignment”

“Well, whatever you are doing can wait, we need to talk” Prisca said sitting and Patricia frowned. This was what she hated about home works. You always get interruptions.

“Can’t it wait mum?” she lamented.

“No, it can’t” Prisca responded and pat sat down hesitantly. “Good. Now, I am going to face the issue that you have been dodging and avoiding for a long time”

There we go again, Patricia thought as she braced herself for the long and boring marriage talk that she knew was coming.

“You are not getting younger Patricia Williams, you are twenty six now and yet, you have never mentioned the name of a man, not to talk of introducing someone that you are serious with. Your younger sister already has a guy that she wants to settle down with, how long would you keep hiding? Or is there a man but you don’t want to tell us now?”

Patricia sighed audibly. “Oh mum, I don’t know what to think or do with you. When I was much younger, you forbade me from having male friends, not to mention a boyfriend but now, you are pushing me to them. Are you tired of seeing me in your house? If so, I can have my own apartment, it would actually help my work.”

“Stop spilling trash Pat. All you think about is work. I kept you away from men because I wanted you to focus on your education and not allow men destroy your life but now that you are mature enough, you need a man in your life”

“What do I need a man for? Just tell me mum” Pat was dead serious now. “is it for money? Mum, I have more than enough money to last a lifetime. Is it fame? I am more famous than millions of men out there. Name it mum, what can a man give me that I don’t have already?”

Prisca was too stunned to speak for some seconds. “Pat, money and fame is not everything. Don’t you desire the type of relationship that I have with your dad? You may have it all but what of love or children?”

“Oh, forget it mum, love does not exist, at least, not anymore. Sure, you and dad are a match made from heaven and your kind of love is rare but that was back in the days. This is the twenty-first century and love has faded out of life, all that remains is lust and hatred. In a nutshell, the point I am trying to make is that I am not getting married, it is not in my agenda. If you want grand children from me, that can be easily solved, I can adopt. I also love children a lot, but marriage, no way. I would never get married mum, I don’t need it”

Michael paced his office and his two friends, Tunji and Eric, sat down and watched as he moved steadily from one end of the office to another. Nothing had ever affected Michael this much ever since they had known him and that mere fact was enough to give them worry also.

“I don’t get this: First, I noticed that ‘Tel’ is going down, secondly, Alexa comes here to accuse me of something I know nothing about; I discover that I have nude pictures floating around on net and I have been ridiculously labeled as gay. As if all that is not enough, I have to deal with Pat Williams”

“Now, the last one is a serious problem”

“Oh, that sexy trouble maker? I have been dying to see her glorious body ever since she took over Canada” Eric said and was rewarded with a glare. “What? Is she not hot?”

Michael deliberately decided to ignore Eric simply because he had more problems to think about. He was not going to pay attention to the fact that her body was what he had noticed first when she entered.

Tunji shook his head. “I had forgotten that you are always senseless at awkward times” he murmured to Eric but Michael heard none because he was too preoccupied with his thoughts.

“Oh, shut up, no one here is as sensible as I am”

“I don’t understand this. I am as alarmed as I am angry at the rude invasion of my body and privacy. Who could have pulled this stunt? And to prove what? I have searched but can’t find anyone who I offended so much to the extent that he or she would want to destroy me” Michael said, still pacing slowly.

“Probably you did an unprofitable business with someone” Tunji suggested.

“Or you jilted a girl. Only women do insane things like this” Eric said.

“There is no one I can pinpoint. I make sure all my business partners are satisfied and I have not done any evil to any woman. all the break-ups I have had have been mutual agreements”

“Except this last one” Eric chipped and Michael swallowed.

Michael’s door flung open and the first thought that crossed Michael’s mind was that he needed to fire his secretary because she had become so incompetent. His eyes fell on the two men that entered and he faintly saw his secretary standing agitatedly behind them.

“Who are you and why should you barge into my office like that?” Michael demanded.

Both of them removed their ID cards. “I am inspector Luke from the state police station. I have a warrant for your arrest Mr. Coker, you are needed at the station.”

Eric and Tunji’s eyes widened and they stood instantly but Michael did not even move an inch from the place he was standing. Michael swallowed as a chill ran through him. “On what charges?” Michael asked quietly.

“You would know when we get to the station. Please move sir” Inspector Luke said.

“Well, we were having a conversation before you people barged in so he can’t leave” Eric said.

The inspector regarded Eric vainly before he turned to face Michael with the door wide open. “After you sir”

Michael took out his phone and called his lawyer, told him all that had happened and ended the call. Only then did he leave his position and walked towards the door. Eric and Tunji were both angry and they blasted the policemen relentlessly but at the end, nothing was resolved. Michael walked boldly and confidently and the police men followed.

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Felicia continued her assassin movie from the place she had stopped and relaxed fully on the chair with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of wine in another. It was for times like this that she really loved American movies. Sophia had already briefed her on all the happenings in Tel Communications and Felicia was extremely happy to hear that the company was going down drastically. She was waiting for the time where the company would be taken over. Seeing Alexa had been one great step. She wanted Alexander to hate Michael so much and that picture had achieved more than enough. The mere fact that Michael had not only hidden his gay status but was also married, should be enough to make Alexander want to destroy the man. She focused on her movie but was once again distracted by her phone. A message popped in and it was from Sophia. When Felicia read the message, she jumped up, unable to hide her happiness.

“Yippeeeee” she exclaimed and toasted herself. She drank her fill, dropped the cigarette in the ashtray and picked up her phone. She dialed the number of Michael’s cousin – John Coker. “Congratulations to you Mr. John Coker, you are now the head of ‘Tel Communications’…” she said immediately the phone was picked up. She smiled after listening to the receiver. “Yes, Michael is out now, it is time to take over Tel Communications”

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Patricia had been able to get rid of her mum after a very long argumentative time and she was finally able to go back to work. she took out her camera and went to the photos. Immediately Michael’s face popped up, she was forced to pause. It would have been better if he was not strikingly handsome. He was just breath-taking. His dark, unreadable eyes looked so full of secrets that Patricia would gladly investigate. His stubborn chin and slightly shunned face looked incredibly appealing and Pat could bet that soft women would drool over him. She hissed. Luckily, she was not one of those soft women to cower at a man’s feet.

Patricia destroyed her annoying thoughts and went back to work. she studied the picture critically, seeing only a man. She had stayed in Canada, long enough to know so many gay people and know how they dress and what they looked and behaved like. Unfortunately, Michael had no feature that relates with the gay personality. If anything, he looked more manly than most men. She swallowed and dropped the camera. She launched her browser again to do more findings but her phone alerted her of an incoming message. She picked up the phone, opened the message and frowned at the words she saw. “What?” she murmured. She had known that the police would intervene in this issue but she hadn’t thought that it would be this fast. This would affect her work both positively and negatively. She smiled faintly but it was gone in a heartbeat. She closed the laptop, took her phone, car keys and handbag and was out of the house in less than two minutes.